JERANTUT: The government is not planning to implement nationwide Movement Control Order so far, however, it will proceed with targeted movement restrictions, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Ismail Sabri said the targeted MCO could also be enforced following the Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system that would indicate specific areas with large cases of COVID-19 outbreak (hotspots).

"If there is a hotspot area, we will enforce an MCO according to the village, subdistrict, or district that has a large number of outbreak cases with the smallest scale (of the MCO) that will be implemented is the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), but it will still be done in a targeted manner.

"However, various possibilities can occur because according to data from the Ministry of Health (MOH) if there is no intervention from the government, cases can reach up to more than 5,000 after the (Aidilfitri) celebration and can rise to 10,000 cases in July and August," he said.

Ismail Sabri said this at a media conference after opening a Bailey Compact 100 bridge at Kampung Sungai Putat here today.



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Also present were Army Chief General Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain and Army Western Field Commander Lieutenant General Datuk Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan.

He was asked to comment on the enforcement of the nationwide MCO following the recent surge in the number of new cases where 4,498 was logged yesterday apart from the concern of the people that a nationwide MCO would be imposed at the last minute before the Aidilfitri celebration.

Ismail Sabri said a meeting held by the Technical Committee of the National Security Council (MKN) this morning had also discussed the possibility of an MCO during Aidilfitri celebration, adding that the decision on the matter would be announced this evening or latest by tomorrow to allow the people to make ample preparations.

On the newly constructed bridge, Ismail Sabri said it was built after the original bridge was ruined by floods early this year and was closed to the public on March 24.

The closure made it difficult for the nearly 1,000 residents of Kampung Sungai Putat and its surrounding areas to travel to the nearby town and school, forcing them to repair the bridge on their own initiatives using coconut tree trunks.



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Ismail Sabri said the bridge was seen unsafe which prompted the Malaysian Army to mobilise two squadrons of the Royal Army Engineers Regiment to construct a Compact Bailey 100 bridge which was completed within 17 hours on April 28, in collaboration with the Public Works Department and Tenaga Nasional Berhad and coordinated by the National Disaster Management Agency.

The bridge is the third Compact Bailey bridge erected by the Malaysian Army to replace bridges that were destroyed by floods.

-- BERNAMA